Generally, thumb sucking has been treated in three general ways in the past. In the first method, the thumb is coated with a substance which creates an unpleasant taste in the child's mouth. For example, the thumb is coated with an unpleasant tasting substance such as lemon juice or similar substance. In the second method, the thumb and fingers are completely covered or restrained so that the child is not able to insert them into its mouth. For example, the sleeves of the garment which the child is wearing may be pinned or otherwise closed or a glove or similar type device may be placed over the child's hand. In the third method, an object is substituted for the thumb or finger. Such devices include devices such as teething rings or pacifiers.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,961 to Thomas (Sep. 14, 1954) shows a teething ring that may be attached to the finger or thumb. U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,482 to Feeney, discloses a hand-attached device such as a pacifier or teething device. U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,267 to Krygier shows a hand covering mitt which includes proturbances which are capable of acting as pacifiers. Design patent 90,678 to Parke shows an ornamental design for an anti-thumb sucking device.
All of the prior art devices have disadvantages including: 1) the restraint of the child when using the glove type or sleeve restraint, 2) unpleasant tastes for the child using various chemical compositions that are applied to the fingers and thumb, 3) the substitution of one device, i.e., the pacifier for the thumb or finger which substitutes one form of behavior for another but does not eliminate the objectionable sucking habit, and 4) in the case of sufficiently small device, the creation of a potential for choking on the device.